Fortnite BR: How Epic Games Chooses iOS Testers

By Kyle Sledge 20 March 2018

Just yesterday, Epic Games and People Can Fly officially opened up Fortnite Battle Royale’s iOS Invite Event signups, leading to such a large portion of gamers attempting to sign up to take part that it wound up crashing the site for several hours. Considering the fact that the demand to be selected in this event is so high, many are wondering exactly what factors are involved in companies’ decision to choose testers for the title’s iOS version. Thankfully, Epic Games has now piped up to reveal how it will select fans to test the iOS version of the game.

According to an exchange between Forbes’ David Thier and Epic Games’ PR Manager Nick Chester, there are several stipulations that get taken into account before the studio picks players to join in FortniteBattle Royale’s forthcoming iOS Invite Event. As stated by Chester, “Factors that contribute to the order in which players receive invites include sign up order, proximity to a data center, and device model, among other factors.”

When it comes to Epic Games considering sign up order for Fortnite Battle Royale’s iOS Invite Event, the company might decide to make such a condition less of a priority than others, especially when one takes into account how so many people flooded the signup site and caused it to crash, which surely deterred some from registering at all. Nevertheless, it’s still an important factor, as it gives the company an idea of who was dedicated and persistent enough to try and get their names in the running.

As far as the proximity to a data center is concerned, Epic Games will more than likely go with a mixed bag of Fortnite Battle Royale players both close to and far away from these sites at first. After all, if the studio wants the game to succeed on iOS, it will need to understand just how well it can run on the platform whether fans are near or far from data centers. In a similar vein, Epic told Forbes that more powerful devices such as iPad Pros and iPhone Xs won’t get priority over other gadgets, as it wants to make sure that the game works well on all potential devices.

Since Epic Games didn’t share what “other factors” are involved in the selection process for the testers of Fortnite Battle Royale’s iOS Invite Event, it’s difficult to discern what they could be. Nevertheless, it’s highly possible this could mean that the company is intending to use data to determine who has already played the game, and will then provide more first-round invites to those who haven’t experienced it. With PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One fans already able to dive off the Battle Bus without an Apple device, Epic might want to see how it can cater to fans who game exclusively on iOS. At any rate, invites for the iOS testing period of Fortnite Battle Royale have yet to be sent out, and Epic has warned fans to be wary of any false mobile download links.

Fortnite is available now in early access on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.